At five years, Populace Coffee is brewing a serious business with national recognition

In April 2013, Andrew Heppner, founder and owner of Bay City-based specialty roaster Populace Coffee, was hoping to land a big-time client in Manhattan that would give his young business the type of jolt his coffee offers. The potential client called and said it was between him and another coffee company. He wanted more samples.

This wasn’t a small coffee shop up for grabs. Heppner was told it goes through about 500 pounds of coffee each week. For comparison sake, Harless + Hugh Coffee, which carries Heppner’s Populace brand, goes through 60 pounds per week.